Tourists can now fly directly to Aklan for Boracay tour

By Leila Salaverria Inquirer TOURISTS from South Korea can fly directly to Kalibo, Aklan, and need not make a stopover in Manila if they would like to go to Boracay Island, the Bureau of Immigration announced last week. Kalibo town is now a limited port of entry for foreigners after the BI opened its office there to service international flights, according to Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan. Libanan said in a statement that the bureau started its Kalibo operations on May 11, processing the documents of the 65 passengers of the maiden flight of an Asian Spirit jetliner that brought tourists from Incheon, South Korea. Asian Spirit has since been making direct flights from Incheon to Kalibo twice a week, which has been facilitating the arrival of Koreans, according to Libanan. Kalibo is a two-hour journey from Caticlan, which is the nearest coastal village to the internationally renowned Boracay Island, which is popular with vacationers even in the non-summer months. Libanan also said the immigration bureau will increase its presence in Kalibo in the coming months when the Philippine Airlines begins its flights to and from Incheon. Other airlines are also drawing up plans to have direct flights to Kalibo from international destinations like Singapore and Hong Kong. The direct flights to Kalibo arose from the lobbying of local officials in Aklan, who wanted to push the development of tourism in their areas, according to BI boarding section chief Jose Carandang. Carandang said the Aklan provincial government promised to construct a new terminal at the Kalibo airport to cater to foreign passengers and house the immigration office. The BI has established a sub-office in Boracay for foreign tourists on the island who might want to extend their foreign visas. The sub-office was established so that tourists need not go to Manila or Iloilo City for the processing of their documents.